Wednesday, August 20, 2014

UIS welcomes over 200 new students on Freshman Move-In Day

The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) welcomed about 250 new students to campus during a rainy Freshman Move-In Day on August 20, 2014.

“The whole process has been kind of complicated by the weather, but obviously we’ve got great volunteers and staff and they’re responding accordingly,” said John Ringle, UIS director of residence life.

The Marchiori family beat the rain and was impressed by the number of student and community volunteers helping with the move-in process.

“We like the help. You pull up and like 6 or 7 people come out and they’ve got these bins and they’re all grabbing stuff,” said parent Adelmo Marchiori.

Adelmo and Rebecca Marchiori met when they attended Sangamon State University (now UIS) in the late 1980s. They encouraged their son, Dominic, to attend UIS because of the great academic programs.

“They said it was a really good school when they went and they said a lot has changed (about the campus),” said Dominic.

Other students, such as Hailey Michael, chose UIS because of the small class sizes and the supportive academic environment.

“This was the one place that I felt like home and I could actually see myself in and I really like the teachers and everyone here,” said Michael.

While many of the new students are a little scared to move away from home and attend college, they’re excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead.

“It seems like a very fun and entertaining environment,” said UIS freshman Taylor Mitchell. “Plus, it’s part of the Illinois system, it’s one of the top schools.”

Students were assigned arrival times in an effort to avoid headaches and congestion at Lincoln and Founders Residence Halls during move-in day.

Both Lincoln and Founders Residence Halls will be near capacity this year, at nearly 400 students, once sophomores arrive on campus.